-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
-
Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
Nickname discussion
- Thread starter Ash Borer
- Start date
The guidelines in the OP are fine guidelines. However, they're really geared to one objective of nicknaming; artistic.
I've never been the artsy type. The peak of my artistic ability was being able to copy other images without tracing when I was a kid. So when I name Pokemon, I tend to worry little about how "good" they are.
Instead, I name my Pokemon whatever the hell I feel like at the time. Sometimes I try to be clever, sometimes I try to be funny. Sometimes I make references, and sometimes I make things up from no where. Sometimes I'll name things with a theme in mind, and sometimes I'll name them in a way that relates to the time of their capture. And sometimes, my names don't make the slightest lick of sense at all.
Case and point; BleepBloop the Talonflame. The first member of my Y team in my first playthrough of the game that I caught and kept, BleepBloop's name was not thought out with care, despite the fact it's seen more use in my game now than literally any other Pokemon thanks to its utility in Fly and Flame Body. I came up with it in around 10 seconds. The name is a reference to a Red vs. Blue short that was made to announce the creation of Achievement Hunter. I just happened to think it of it when I was nicknaming Fletchling, and decided to name it that. It's funny, since I hadn't actually even seen that short for at least a year. It just happened to be crossing my mind. And it has literally no relation to the Pokemon that bears it either. I just felt like it, and thought it sounded stupid and funny as a name. And now, BleepBloop is probably one of my favorite Pokemon I've ever used, in part thanks to that incredibly random, stupid nickname.
Really, my nicknames are all about my state of mind at the time of capture. This often makes them completely inscrutable to other people, but that's fine in my book. My nicknames aren't for them (well, unless I'm doing a stream), and I have no desire to express my creativity or knowledge or anything like that through them, so there's no need for anyone other than me to understand them. Instead they end up being snapshots of my state of mind. They become anchors for memories, allowing me to load up old games, read the nicknames and take a step into my past. In a way, this makes these names far more powerful for me than they would be if I tried to craft each one carefully. This way they do something much more important to me than just sounding good; they tell a story.
I've never been the artsy type. The peak of my artistic ability was being able to copy other images without tracing when I was a kid. So when I name Pokemon, I tend to worry little about how "good" they are.
Instead, I name my Pokemon whatever the hell I feel like at the time. Sometimes I try to be clever, sometimes I try to be funny. Sometimes I make references, and sometimes I make things up from no where. Sometimes I'll name things with a theme in mind, and sometimes I'll name them in a way that relates to the time of their capture. And sometimes, my names don't make the slightest lick of sense at all.
Case and point; BleepBloop the Talonflame. The first member of my Y team in my first playthrough of the game that I caught and kept, BleepBloop's name was not thought out with care, despite the fact it's seen more use in my game now than literally any other Pokemon thanks to its utility in Fly and Flame Body. I came up with it in around 10 seconds. The name is a reference to a Red vs. Blue short that was made to announce the creation of Achievement Hunter. I just happened to think it of it when I was nicknaming Fletchling, and decided to name it that. It's funny, since I hadn't actually even seen that short for at least a year. It just happened to be crossing my mind. And it has literally no relation to the Pokemon that bears it either. I just felt like it, and thought it sounded stupid and funny as a name. And now, BleepBloop is probably one of my favorite Pokemon I've ever used, in part thanks to that incredibly random, stupid nickname.
Really, my nicknames are all about my state of mind at the time of capture. This often makes them completely inscrutable to other people, but that's fine in my book. My nicknames aren't for them (well, unless I'm doing a stream), and I have no desire to express my creativity or knowledge or anything like that through them, so there's no need for anyone other than me to understand them. Instead they end up being snapshots of my state of mind. They become anchors for memories, allowing me to load up old games, read the nicknames and take a step into my past. In a way, this makes these names far more powerful for me than they would be if I tried to craft each one carefully. This way they do something much more important to me than just sounding good; they tell a story.
Last edited:
A insight into the mind of Hclegend round 3:
hsaW motoR (Rotom-Wash): hurray for originality
Sweg (Meinshao): it has a epic tache. Your argument is invalid
Monado (Aegislash) XENOBLAAAAAAAAAAAADE
Meowth (Weavile): "Team Rocket theme goes here"
Lava Moth (Volcarona): Rejected Mega Man X boss.Not really
Dookieshed (Cradily): IT USES IT'S DICKS XD
RAWR (Gyarados): RAWR it's a evil sea dragon
Skarmor (Skarmory): Err... LoL reference? (It's a giant shapeshifting scorpion... Wait what)
I don't even (Granbull): well it perfectly describes what I was thinking when I named it. Alternate name was Munchkin (lol Chuggaaconroy)
+6 Evasion (Driftblim): I'm a douchebag. JS
Free Hugs (Goodra): it's so CUUUUTE (This was also the name for my first Rotom)
HoennCmfirmed (Sableye): bred BEFORE ORAS was announced. No really
Phil (Tyranitar): It just looks like a Phil. No idea why.
The Bro (Slowking): He's muh brah. No questions.
So Happy! (Cinccino): YOSHI SO HAPPY ^^
Slap-Happy (Ambipom): SMACK MUH BITCH UP (dub step)
BACON (Emboar): BACON! UGLY! :p
Okay that's enough ^^
hsaW motoR (Rotom-Wash): hurray for originality
Sweg (Meinshao): it has a epic tache. Your argument is invalid
Monado (Aegislash) XENOBLAAAAAAAAAAAADE
Meowth (Weavile): "Team Rocket theme goes here"
Lava Moth (Volcarona): Rejected Mega Man X boss.
Dookieshed (Cradily): IT USES IT'S DICKS XD
RAWR (Gyarados): RAWR it's a evil sea dragon
Skarmor (Skarmory): Err... LoL reference? (It's a giant shapeshifting scorpion... Wait what)
I don't even (Granbull): well it perfectly describes what I was thinking when I named it. Alternate name was Munchkin (lol Chuggaaconroy)
+6 Evasion (Driftblim): I'm a douchebag. JS
Free Hugs (Goodra): it's so CUUUUTE (This was also the name for my first Rotom)
HoennCmfirmed (Sableye): bred BEFORE ORAS was announced. No really
Phil (Tyranitar): It just looks like a Phil. No idea why.
The Bro (Slowking): He's muh brah. No questions.
So Happy! (Cinccino): YOSHI SO HAPPY ^^
Slap-Happy (Ambipom): SMACK MUH BITCH UP (dub step)
BACON (Emboar): BACON! UGLY! :p
Okay that's enough ^^
My favorite nickname I have given is for my azmarill. His nickname is azazel, after a fictional dragon hunter. I also name some of them after passed celebrities that I'd admired. For instance, I have a talonflame nicknamed Robin who's named after Robin Williams and a crobat nicknamed Tony whose after a character played by James Gandolfini( though Tony is more for my mom, she loved the sopranos).
Last edited:
Blaziken- NEGATIVE (because reversal)
Espeon- nope. (says no to statusers)
Geomancy Xerneas- SHOOP DA WHOOP(ohkos nearly everything)
Mega Kanga- Falcon Punch (FALCON PAWWWNCH)
Shedninja(in hackmons)- Bzz Bzz(sounds funny, like lel)
Arceus- I AM GOD(wow, such ogiginal+sonic.exe refernence)
Espeon- nope. (says no to statusers)
Geomancy Xerneas- SHOOP DA WHOOP(ohkos nearly everything)
Mega Kanga- Falcon Punch (FALCON PAWWWNCH)
Shedninja(in hackmons)- Bzz Bzz(sounds funny, like lel)
Arceus- I AM GOD(wow, such ogiginal+sonic.exe refernence)
As I am a shiny hunter, I only nickname my shiny mons. As my shiny mons are 117 I will not write 117 nicknames, I will write only my favourite ones:
Falistra, the shiny Eelektross: I'm italian, so I give a lot of italian words as nicknames for my Pokemon. "Falistra" is an italian archaic form for "Lightning" because Lightning in italian is "Fulmine" but it was extremely common in italian nicknames for electric pokemons.
Leonida, the shiny Chesnaught: is the name of a greek hero (I think everyone here has senn the film "300")
Vespiore, the shiny Volcarona: this is a bit complicated because is the composition of two italian words: "vespa" and "fiore" that mean "wasp" and "flower"
Nutella, the shiny Golem: I don't know why but I love it
Ombra, the shiny Umbreon: "ombra" is the italian of "shadow"
Cianuro, the shiny Dragalge: "cianuro" is the italian for "cyanide". I think it is obvious why
Dovahkiin, the shiny Sylveon: who played Skyrim knows why
Muliphain, the shiny Charizard: it's the name of a star that means "star to swear on"
Tentazione, the shiny Aegislash: is the italian for "temptation"
Cersei, the shiny female Pyroar: who likes GoT knows why
Aurora, the shiny Suicune: this is the same in english and italian so there is no problem
Lilleraldo, the shiny Blastoise: is a composition ofd two italian words: "Lilla" and "smeraldo" that mean "lilac" and "emerald" because of the shiny colors of blastoise
Falistra, the shiny Eelektross: I'm italian, so I give a lot of italian words as nicknames for my Pokemon. "Falistra" is an italian archaic form for "Lightning" because Lightning in italian is "Fulmine" but it was extremely common in italian nicknames for electric pokemons.
Leonida, the shiny Chesnaught: is the name of a greek hero (I think everyone here has senn the film "300")
Vespiore, the shiny Volcarona: this is a bit complicated because is the composition of two italian words: "vespa" and "fiore" that mean "wasp" and "flower"
Nutella, the shiny Golem: I don't know why but I love it
Ombra, the shiny Umbreon: "ombra" is the italian of "shadow"
Cianuro, the shiny Dragalge: "cianuro" is the italian for "cyanide". I think it is obvious why
Dovahkiin, the shiny Sylveon: who played Skyrim knows why
Muliphain, the shiny Charizard: it's the name of a star that means "star to swear on"
Tentazione, the shiny Aegislash: is the italian for "temptation"
Cersei, the shiny female Pyroar: who likes GoT knows why
Aurora, the shiny Suicune: this is the same in english and italian so there is no problem
Lilleraldo, the shiny Blastoise: is a composition ofd two italian words: "Lilla" and "smeraldo" that mean "lilac" and "emerald" because of the shiny colors of blastoise
I like to nickname all my Pokemon; the only exception is when I'm breeding and stopping to nickname things wastes precious O-Power juice.
Blaziken: Tends to get named after spicy chicken dishes (because fire type + chicken + kicks you in the face, soooo creative amirite?) I've had General Tso, Kung Pao, and a Talonflame named Hot Wings.
Venusaur: Basil, both a boy's name and a plant! Also had a Meganium named Dill, for the same reasons.
Gengar: Bred one for a friend and named him Moffat, after Steven Moffat, executive producer for BBC's Sherlock and Dr. Who. Because Moffat, much like a Mega Gengar, sucks you in, won't let you escape, and crushes your dreams.
Noivern: I've got a male named Gotham (bcuz Batman) and a female named Banshee (lady ghost what kills people by screaming at them = Boomburst). Also Masuda'd a shiny and named him Jackpot for obvious reasons.
Scolipede: Bred a bunch to get a good one with Speed Boost, and wound up with two boys and a shiny girl. The boys are Zerg Rush and Dexter; Zerg Rush is a Starcraft reference, while Dexter is kind of a nerdy name, and bug collecting is sort of a nerdy habit, plus sort of a DnD reference because high "Dexter"-ity = high speed and agility. The girl is Nyoom, because it is the sound speedy things make.
Swampert: Skipper, a term for a ship's captain. A nautical name for a water-type seemed appropriate, plus "Skipper the Mudkip" is super-adorable and rolls of the tongue nicely.
Espeon: I had one in my HG nuzlocke named Chuck, short for Charles, as in Charles Xavier/Professor X of X-Men. Chuck died thanks to my rival's Sneasel using Pursuit. Still sad about it tbh.
Golurk: Boltzmann, after the Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann. Also, kinda has a Frankenstein-y feel to it (Bolts + Man = Frankenstein's monster had bolts in his neck), which seemed cool for a golem-like creature.
Arcanine: Giant fluffy murder puppy? All right, Cujo it is.
I also did an X playthrough where everything was a Pacific Rim reference, and a Ruby nuzlocke where every single Pokemon was named after food.
--BONUS ROUND: Nicknames I am not proud of--
Nicknaming Pokemon with basically shortened versions of their species name: Thirteen-year-old me was not a clever kid. I had a Rayquaza named Raiyo and a Charizard named Char. Let that sink in: my 13yo self thought that naming my Charmander "Char" was a cool and clever thing to do.
Sickeningly obvious/cliche names: Like a Mightyena named Fang and a Houndoom named Diablo. Or a Galvantula named Sparky and a Raichu named Yellow. Yeah, it's cute, but not brag-worthy.
Meme names: Shoop the Wooper, now a Quagsire with Hyper Beam.
Blaziken: Tends to get named after spicy chicken dishes (because fire type + chicken + kicks you in the face, soooo creative amirite?) I've had General Tso, Kung Pao, and a Talonflame named Hot Wings.
Venusaur: Basil, both a boy's name and a plant! Also had a Meganium named Dill, for the same reasons.
Gengar: Bred one for a friend and named him Moffat, after Steven Moffat, executive producer for BBC's Sherlock and Dr. Who. Because Moffat, much like a Mega Gengar, sucks you in, won't let you escape, and crushes your dreams.
Noivern: I've got a male named Gotham (bcuz Batman) and a female named Banshee (lady ghost what kills people by screaming at them = Boomburst). Also Masuda'd a shiny and named him Jackpot for obvious reasons.
Scolipede: Bred a bunch to get a good one with Speed Boost, and wound up with two boys and a shiny girl. The boys are Zerg Rush and Dexter; Zerg Rush is a Starcraft reference, while Dexter is kind of a nerdy name, and bug collecting is sort of a nerdy habit, plus sort of a DnD reference because high "Dexter"-ity = high speed and agility. The girl is Nyoom, because it is the sound speedy things make.
Swampert: Skipper, a term for a ship's captain. A nautical name for a water-type seemed appropriate, plus "Skipper the Mudkip" is super-adorable and rolls of the tongue nicely.
Espeon: I had one in my HG nuzlocke named Chuck, short for Charles, as in Charles Xavier/Professor X of X-Men. Chuck died thanks to my rival's Sneasel using Pursuit. Still sad about it tbh.
Golurk: Boltzmann, after the Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann. Also, kinda has a Frankenstein-y feel to it (Bolts + Man = Frankenstein's monster had bolts in his neck), which seemed cool for a golem-like creature.
Arcanine: Giant fluffy murder puppy? All right, Cujo it is.
I also did an X playthrough where everything was a Pacific Rim reference, and a Ruby nuzlocke where every single Pokemon was named after food.
--BONUS ROUND: Nicknames I am not proud of--
Nicknaming Pokemon with basically shortened versions of their species name: Thirteen-year-old me was not a clever kid. I had a Rayquaza named Raiyo and a Charizard named Char. Let that sink in: my 13yo self thought that naming my Charmander "Char" was a cool and clever thing to do.
Sickeningly obvious/cliche names: Like a Mightyena named Fang and a Houndoom named Diablo. Or a Galvantula named Sparky and a Raichu named Yellow. Yeah, it's cute, but not brag-worthy.
Meme names: Shoop the Wooper, now a Quagsire with Hyper Beam.
I remember once breeding a Froakie for a friend. She was really into Shakespeare, so I named it Iago, after the villain in Othello, because Iago's being different alone vs. around people I thought is sort of similar to Protean's shape-shifting properties.
Cresselia~~
Junichi Masuda likes this!!
I used to play with Japanese characters that looked like English alphabet.
GRヨヨN ("GREEN") My Serperior. It was green.
Purpレ ("Purple") My username.
sんe// ("shell") My Cloyster. It has a shell, right?
らんｅ// My 2nd Cloyster. More "shell".
Sasんa ("Sasha") My Hydreigon. A reference to how Hydreigon's Japanese name is Sazandora. So I took the first 2 syllables and named her Sasha.
GRヨヨN ("GREEN") My Serperior. It was green.
Purpレ ("Purple") My username.
sんe// ("shell") My Cloyster. It has a shell, right?
らんｅ// My 2nd Cloyster. More "shell".
Sasんa ("Sasha") My Hydreigon. A reference to how Hydreigon's Japanese name is Sazandora. So I took the first 2 syllables and named her Sasha.
This may be obvious in hindsight (for me), but it's still glorious.
I don't know any Italian, but these names just look beautiful
Well, I nicknamed one of my Aegislash Shade. It means it's some sort of shadow, because it's a ghost, and it's also a combination of Shield and Blade:>
thank you :)
I must have spent a week trying to decide what to nickname my shiny Greninja. I eventually settled on Frog al-Ghul. Because it's a frog and it really looks like the type of dark ninja-frog who would start the League of Shadows and accidentally train his arch-nemesis while bringing judgment on the decadent, right? Right?
I might do something like that for Ho-oh as it looks like Link's Loftwing in that game.
I'll probably be one of those people who don't nickname their Pokemon at all. The reason being is that I can't really think of anything particularly creative enough for a name.
That, and well, I'm a pretty stingy individual when it comes to nicknames, period. D: Buuut, when I do get around to doing so, I'd normally name them something abstract; something that would make sense to call a Pokemon but yet would sound really cool and stuff. :>
Maybe I'm just the weird one. ;___;
That, and well, I'm a pretty stingy individual when it comes to nicknames, period. D: Buuut, when I do get around to doing so, I'd normally name them something abstract; something that would make sense to call a Pokemon but yet would sound really cool and stuff. :>
Maybe I'm just the weird one. ;___;
One name I loved is Japanese Porn for Malamar or Tentacruel and Adolf Critler for any sniper user like Kingdra
Welp m tentacruel is nicknamed I<3JGurls and my malamar goes by the name of TNWLILY
Probably one of my best and well thought out nicknames was Dynasty the Heracross. This drew from the fact that the genus name of the Hercules Beetle is Dynastes, but I figured Dynasty would be more favored version of the name. Also Hercules Beetles are some of the world's largest and strongest beetles making them a "king" of sort of the bug world. Also if one were to break the word down into it's etymology, it come from the word dynasteía, which means "power" and "ability"; which heracross is very strong and has the ability to take out your opponent's team members with ease.
A few I've used on Showdown -
Xerneas - More than a Deerling (that song by Boston)
Ampharos - IsLambaprettygood (Name taken from that city, Islamabad. This one's a bit lame I think...)
Heracross - No Spine. Just Guts (Heracross is a beetle, therefore an invertebrate and also has the ability 'Guts.' One of my favourites as Heracross is a cool dude.)
And just a basic one I use in-game -
Mamoswine - Snuffy (named after that Mammoth from Sesame Street)
And one more -
Whimsicott (male) - Mido (as in Mido from Ocarina of Time, who is a Kokiri (associated with both grass and fairy type) and is a bit of rascal, or a...'Prankster' ;)
Xerneas - More than a Deerling (that song by Boston)
Ampharos - IsLambaprettygood (Name taken from that city, Islamabad. This one's a bit lame I think...)
Heracross - No Spine. Just Guts (Heracross is a beetle, therefore an invertebrate and also has the ability 'Guts.' One of my favourites as Heracross is a cool dude.)
And just a basic one I use in-game -
Mamoswine - Snuffy (named after that Mammoth from Sesame Street)
And one more -
Whimsicott (male) - Mido (as in Mido from Ocarina of Time, who is a Kokiri (associated with both grass and fairy type) and is a bit of rascal, or a...'Prankster' ;)
Last edited:
A new one of my nicknames, Sharp-Spray. Sharp-Spray is a Kingdra with Sniper, so like a sharpshooter but with spraying because of its watery nature. ...I thought it was clever...
I named my Fennekin Mozilla because it's so obvious it's genius. Also named my Dwebble Crabman (My Name Is Earl reference).